1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a vehicular door handle and more particularly to an external vehicular door handle having a secondary latch to prevent undesired opening of the vehicular door as a result of impact to the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicular doors typically comprise a primary latch for retaining the door in a closed position, a handle mechanism mounted on the exterior surface of the door for selectively actuating the primary latch so that the door can be moved to an open position, and a lock for selectively preventing movement of the handle mechanism and, thus, actuation of the primary latch. Consequently, when the door is locked, it cannot be inadvertently opened, such as during impacts resulting from collisions with other vehicles or with stationary objects. However, if the door is unlocked, such impacts can result in undesired inertial movement of the handle, which can thereby actuate the primary latch and open the door. If the door opens during a collision, passengers in the vehicle can be thrown from the vehicle or otherwise injured.
To satisfy the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), which establish vehicle requirements in the event of a collision, some external vehicular handles comprise a secondary latch that prevents inadvertent movement of the handle mechanism at least during an impact having a force equal to the minimum force designated by the FMVSS. Some of these secondary latches are inertia-based latches that are normally in an inactive condition and are activated during the impact. Others are active latches that have a default active condition and must be inactivated by a user when opening the door. The latter type of secondary latches are more reliable in that they are always activated and do not require a minimum force for activation. However, active latches require the user to perform a two-step door opening process: a first step to inactivate the secondary latch and a second step to actuate the primary latch to open the door. Users can become irritated and annoyed with the two-step process, especially if the user needs to open the door quickly, such as when the user's hands are full or during inclement weather.